New Year’s Meeting with the Diplomatic Corps
2014 will go down in history as a bad year, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski said on Wednesday referring to the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts at a New Year meeting with diplomats.
"We are sad and concerned about what we have witnessed in East Europe and the Middle East over the past months", Bronislaw Komorowski said, noting that developments in both regions will make the past year go down badly in history.
"This year will go down badly in the history of Europe, our region and the world, because it is hard not to see the employment of armed forces, the annexation of a part of the territory of a sovereign country, support for separatism, the accompanying fighting, the victims and the humanitarian crisis", the president emphasised.
Referring to the situation in Ukraine, president Komorowski stressed that Ukraine had the right to decide about its political system and external relations. He added that he hoped for the resumption of "constructive dialogue" in Europe.
"We continue to believe that every important country in Europe and the world will find enough strength to resume constructive dialogue and cooperation for a peaceful (...) order in Europe", Komorowski declared.
Commenting last week's recent jihadist attacks in France which cost 17 lives, Bronislaw Komorowski warned that the "spectre of terror was spreading over Europe".
"The attacks in France (...) have shocked us deeply", the president said and assured that Poland condemned them "with all force".
President Komorowski emphasised that the struggle against radical Islam should take place in such a way as to "prevent the situation evolving into another hotbed of warfare and humanitarian dramas".
"Past errors are able to return in unexpected and tragic circumstances, (...) we must therefore know how to learn from experience", Komorowski said, voicing concern over the regress in the Middle Eastern peace process.
Source: PAP; president.pl